Cabo de Hornos National Park is a protected area in southern Chile that was designated a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 2005, along with

Alberto de Agostini National Park Alberto de Agostini National Park () is a protected area that was created on January 22, 1965, on land that was formerly part of the "Hollanda" forest reserve and "Hernando de Magallanes National Park". It covers and includes the Cordillera Darw ...

. The world's southernmost national park, it is located 12 hours by boat from

Puerto Williams Puerto Williams (; Spanish for "Port Williams") is the city, port and naval base on Navarino Island in Chile. It faces the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces in the Magellan and Chilean An ...

in the

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

Archipelago, which belongs to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos in the Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. The park was created in 1945 and includes the Wollaston Archipelago and the Hermite Islands. It covers and is run by the Corporacion Nacional Forestal (

CONAF The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. C ...

), the Chilean body that governs all national parks in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Origins

The region of Cabo de Hornos (

) was discovered by the Dutch merchant Isaac Le Maire on January 29, 1616 and was named Hoorn after the Dutch city where the expedition came from. The national park was created on April 26, 1945 by the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture.

Geography

The park covers an area of , at a general altitude of 220 meters, with the exception of two major peaks: Cerro Pirámide, which has an altitude of 406 meters, and Cerro Hyde, the highest point with an altitude of 670 meters. It comprises a series of the islands and islets that make up the archipelago, including the main landmasses of the Wollaston and Hermite Islands.The park is the southernmost piece of Chilean territory, except for the

Chilean Antarctic Territory The Chilean Antarctic Territory or Chilean Antarctica (Spanish: ''Territorio Chileno Antártico'', ''Antártica Chilena'') is the territory in Antarctica claimed by Chile. The Chilean Antarctic Territory ranges from 53° West to 90° West and f ...

which is in dispute.

Climate

The climate in the park is generally cool, owing to the southern latitude. There are no clearly distinct weather stations, but a study in 1882–1883 found an annual rainfall of 1,357 millimetres (53.42 in), with an average annual temperature of 5.2 °C (41.4 °F). Winds were reported to average , (5 Bf), with squalls of over , (10 Bf) occurring in all seasons. There are 278 days of rainfall (70 days of snow) and 2000 mm of annual rainfall Cloud coverage is generally extensive, with averages from 5.2 eighths in May and July to 6.4 eighths in December and January. Precipitation is high throughout the year: the weather station on the nearby

Diego Ramirez Islands Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...

, 109 kilometres (68 mi) south-west in the

Drake Passage The Drake Passage (referred to as Mar de Hoces Hoces Sea"in Spanish-speaking countries) is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atla ...

, shows the greatest rainfall in March, averaging 137.4 millimetres (5.41 in); while October, which has the least rainfall, still averages 93.7 millimetres (3.69 in). Wind conditions are generally severe, particularly in winter. In summer, the wind at Cape Horn is

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

and its main characteristic is the presence of tuberous vegetable formations covered in low dense Poaceaes (Gramineae), lichen and mosses that are resistant to the low temperatures and harsh weather. In some parts, small wooded areas of Antarctic beech or nire, lenga, winter's bark or canelo, and Magellanic coigüe can be found.

Fauna

As with the flora, fauna in the park is scarce and many of the species are endangered. The fauna is dominated by birds and maritime mammals. Bird species found on the islands include:

Magellanic penguin The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen a ...

(''Spheniscus magellanicus''), or red peek penguin, the southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''),

kelp gull The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, part ...

or Dominican gull (''Larus dominicanus''), red-legged cormorant ('' Poikilocarbo gaimardi'', also known as the red-legged shag, red-footed cormorant, red-footed shag, Gaimard's cormorant or grey cormorant),Nelson, J. B. 2005. Cormorants and shags. Pages 512–14. In C. M. Perrins, W. J. Bock and J. Kikkawa, eds. Pelicans, Cormorants, and their Relatives. Oxford University Press, New York. and

southern royal albatross The southern royal albatross or toroa, (''Diomedea epomophora'') is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above , it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent stu ...

(''Diomedea epomophora'').Albatros real, pajaro carnero
rutaschile.com 2014, Retrieved on December 16, 2014 Image:Macronectes giganteus -East Falkland -flying-8b-4c.jpg , Southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot. Image:Pygoscelis papua.jpg , Antarctic penguin (''Pygoscelis papua ellsworthi'') also known as red peak penguin Image:Larus dominicanus -Kenton-on-Sea, Eastern Cape, South Africa-8.jpg ,

Kelp gull The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, part ...

(''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull Image:Magellanic-penguin02.jpg , The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') Image:Diomedea epomophora - SE Tasmania.jpg ,

Southern royal albatross The southern royal albatross or toroa, (''Diomedea epomophora'') is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above , it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent stu ...

(''Diomedea epomophora'') Mammal species found in the park include:

marine otter The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family ( Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine c ...

(''Lontra felina'', known locally as chungungo),

leopard seal The leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). Its only natural predator is the orca. It feeds on a wide range of prey incl ...

(''Hydrurga leptonyx''),

Chilean dolphin The Chilean dolphin (''Cephalorhynchus eutropia''), also known as the black dolphin, is one of four dolphins in the genus ''Cephalorhynchus''. The dolphin is found only off the coast of Chile; it is commonly referred to in the country as ''ton ...

(''Cephalorhynchus eutropia'', also known as the black dolphin or tonina), Burmeister's porpoise (''Phocoena spinipinnis''),

Peale's dolphin Peale's dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus australis'') is a small dolphin found in the waters around Tierra del Fuego at the foot of South America. It is also commonly known as the black-chinned dolphin or even Peale's black-chinned dolphin. However, si ...

(''Lagenorhynchus australis'') and

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

(''Megaptera novaeangliae''). File:Hydrurga leptonyx edit1.jpg,

Leopard seal The leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). Its only natural predator is the orca. It feeds on a wide range of prey incl ...

(''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard. File:Lfelina.jpg,

Marine otter The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family ( Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine c ...

or chungungo. File:Tonina Chilena2.jpg, Chilean or black dolphin, also known as tonina File:Humpback stellwagen edit.jpg,

Humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

File:Lagenorhynchus australis.jpg, Peale's dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus australis'')

References

External links